SPD Pedals after knee surgery

Ian1983

Hi all

I'm relatively new to cycling.................I've been doing a fair bit of cycling for fitness on my old 70's road bike, flat pedals etc...............but I've decided I'd like to take the step up into competitive cycling. My local club does a lot of 10 / 14 mile time trials which are the sort of thing I'd love to have a go at.

I'm intending to upgrade the bike in order to compete but my main concern is pedals. From the research I've done, SPD pedals are the quickest but can cause some knee soreness. Now I've had 4 knee operations in the past 4 years (2 cruciate reconstructions and 2 arthroscopies).

Would the SPD's be likely to cause problems with my knees?

And is there any other sort of pedal I'd maybe be better off with?

Thanks in advance,

Ian

antfly

It's spd sl for a road bike, they have quite a bit of float in them which helps the knees. People with bad knees seem to favour speedplay pedals though, as they have even more float.

Ian1983

What do you mean by 'float'? And what are 'spd sl' and 'speedplay pedals'? Sorry to ask a load of questions but those terms mean nothing to me!

And yes, I will speak to my physio.............is it more the disengaging with the pedals which can cause knee pain rather than the actual cycling?

crankycrank

Ian1983 wrote:

What do you mean by 'float'? And what are 'spd sl' and 'speedplay pedals'? Sorry to ask a load of questions but those terms mean nothing to me!

Float is how many degrees your foot can rotate laterally on the pedal. Many people with certain types of knee problems (or not) need plenty of float. Most pedals are in the 3-10 degree range of rotational float. Speedplay brand pedals are 18-20 degrees or so and don't have any resistance to your foot moving whereas most other do. SPD SL is Shimano's name for their road style pedal design which is the same basic style of clamping the shoe as most other brands. Hard to know if the OP needs plenty of float but the Speedplay "Zero" line allows you to adjust to as little or as much as you like. If it's just a matter of pain only from rotating your foot to unclip most brands offer a light spring version which uses less force to unclip.

stannie

I have had ACL reconstruction, PCL recocstruction, numerous arthroscopies and eventually a half knee replacement in my left knee.
I have found it better to use clipless pedals than flat ones. There seems to be less stress on my knee.

On my road bike I use speedplay X2
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/speedplay-x2-st ... tAodulgABg
Which allow a lot of "float" but are very easy to clip on and out of.

Similarly on my off-road bike and commuter I have found Time Atac pedals easy to use with my dodgy knee. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/time-atac-xs-pedals/
If you are going to take part in competitive cycling I would definitely recommend the speedplays.( not that I have ever raced competitively!)

Ian1983

Many thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I'll look into getting some Speedplays based on the replies on here

Ian1983

Hi again.

After a few weeks of looking, I've finally bought some speedplay pedals, which come with cleats.

One final question - are there any specific shoes that I should be buying now that'll be compatible with the cleats?

Thanks

wishitwasallflat

Speedplay cleats have four screw holes to fit them to the shoe soles. You can get four hole shoes which are Speedplay specific - the idea is it makes the cleat sit closer to the sole (lowers what's called the stack height) which is apparently better feel and power transfer. Never tried it myself though. Your Speeplays will have included a black plastic adaptor plate which has three holes to attached to the sole and four to attach to the cleat. If you look though you will see that the only way to forward/back adjustment of Speedplay cleats is by moving the adaptor plate forwards and backwards. The three holes in the adaptor plate are actually slots so you can slide it forwards and backwards before you screw it down and then attach the cleat to the four holes. You adjust medial/lateral (side to side) via the cleat as the four holes on the cleat are also slots.

So ...

Fix the adaptor plate to the sole of the shoe using the shims you need (there are several in the packet) to get the plate to sit dead level (the sole will have some curvature which need to be compensated for). This link will tell you which shoes are compatible and which shims you will need:

http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuse ... earchstart

There are vids on u-Tube - but my advice would be to set it initially so the middle of the adaptor plate lines up with where an imaginary line drawn between the base of your big and little toes would be. For most folks that is where the ball of their foot is. Then screw it on using the correct depth screws from the bag (don't forget to Copperslip the screws before screwing them in or when the cleats wear out you may find you need shoes as well!).

Then fit the cleats to the adaptor plate - my advice would be set the cleats in the middle of their side to side range as a starting point and adjust if needed.

This is a good source for adjustment tips re knees - http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

but if you have dodgy knees you would be well advised to get a good bike fit with someone who knows their stuff and they will set you cleats for you. If you wanted to post where you live someone would hopefully be able to recommend a fitter to you nearby.

The short answer is most shoes have three holes so you use the plate but you can get four hole shoes - BUT - the thing I have never understood is how do you get any fore/aft adjustment with four hole shoes? Are the holes on the soles in slots perhaps?

Ian1983

Thanks for such a detailed reply. I haven't actually got the pedals and cleats yet............ordered them yesterday off ebay.

Somebody else has mentioned I should get a bike fit. However, I've already got the bike................is there much adjustment they can do with a bike that's already bought? But I live near Chester. Would travel to Liverpool / Manchester for a decent fit though if anyone knows one around the areas?

wishitwasallflat

Ian1983 wrote:

Thanks for such a detailed reply. I haven't actually got the pedals and cleats yet............ordered them yesterday off ebay.

Somebody else has mentioned I should get a bike fit. However, I've already got the bike................is there much adjustment they can do with a bike that's already bought? But I live near Chester. Would travel to Liverpool / Manchester for a decent fit though if anyone knows one around the areas?

They can do loads to adjust a bike you already own and cleat set up is vital so well worth doing. My English geography is sketchy but Adrian Timmins at Cadence Sport http://www.cadencesport.co.uk/bike-fitting/ has about the best rep of all in the UK and I think he's near you or Pedal Precision in Manchester- do a search on here both have been discussed and reviewed many times.

mikenetic

wishitwasallflat wrote:

Ian1983 wrote:

Thanks for such a detailed reply. I haven't actually got the pedals and cleats yet............ordered them yesterday off ebay.

Somebody else has mentioned I should get a bike fit. However, I've already got the bike................is there much adjustment they can do with a bike that's already bought? But I live near Chester. Would travel to Liverpool / Manchester for a decent fit though if anyone knows one around the areas?

They can do loads to adjust a bike you already own and cleat set up is vital so well worth doing. My English geography is sketchy but Adrian Timmins at Cadence Sport http://www.cadencesport.co.uk/bike-fitting/ has about the best rep of all in the UK and I think he's near you or Pedal Precision in Manchester- do a search on here both have been discussed and reviewed many times.

With the knee history you have I would definitely back up the comments about getting a bike fit. They can check many things in the setup to make sure that you're not accidentally putting pressure on your knees. Make sure that the fitter understands and is comfortable with what's gone on with your knees.

peterberry

Talking as a man with a messed up knee. If you don't go for a bike fit I would deffentley go do a pedal fit. I looked at speed play but ended up with 9 degree float cleats with look pedals. My knee know feels better after a ride than before..

I got mine done at cadence performance centre near crystal palace.